Global assessment of nitrogen deposition effects on terrestrial plant diversity: a synthesis.
Roland Bobbink,Kevin Hicks,James N. Galloway,Till Spranger,Rob Alkemade,Mike Ashmore,Mercedes M. C. Bustamante,Steve Cinderby,Eric A. Davidson,Frank Dentener,Bridget A. Emmett,Jan Willem Erisman,Mark E. Fenn,Frank S. Gilliam,Annika Nordin,Linda H. Pardo,W. de Vries +16 more
TLDR
Ecosystems thought of as not N limited, such as tropical and subtropical systems, may be more vulnerable in the regeneration phase, in situations where heterogeneity in N availability is reduced by atmospheric N deposition, on sandy soils, or in montane areas.Abstract:
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is a recognized threat to plant diversity in temperate and northern parts of Europe and North America. This paper assesses evidence from field experiments for N deposition effects and thresholds for terrestrial plant diversity protection across a latitudinal range of main categories of ecosystems, from arctic and boreal systems to tropical forests. Current thinking on the mechanisms of N deposition effects on plant diversity, the global distribution of G200 ecoregions, and current and future (2030) estimates of atmospheric N-deposition rates are then used to identify the risks to plant diversity in all major ecosystem types now and in the future. This synthesis paper clearly shows that N accumulation is the main driver of changes to species composition across the whole range of different ecosystem types by driving the competitive interactions that lead to composition change and/or making conditions unfavorable for some species. Other effects such as direct toxicity of nitrogen gases and aerosols, long-term negative effects of increased ammonium and ammonia availability, soil-mediated effects of acidification, and secondary stress and disturbance are more ecosystem- and site-specific and often play a supporting role. N deposition effects in mediterranean ecosystems have now been identified, leading to a first estimate of an effect threshold. Importantly, ecosystems thought of as not N limited, such as tropical and subtropical systems, may be more vulnerable in the regeneration phase, in situations where heterogeneity in N availability is reduced by atmospheric N deposition, on sandy soils, or in montane areas. Critical loads are effect thresholds for N deposition, and the critical load concept has helped European governments make progress toward reducing N loads on sensitive ecosystems. More needs to be done in Europe and North America, especially for the more sensitive ecosystem types, including several ecosystems of high conservation importance. The results of this assessment show that the vulnerable regions outside Europe and North America which have not received enough attention are ecoregions in eastern and southern Asia (China, India), an important part of the mediterranean ecoregion (California, southern Europe), and in the coming decades several subtropical and tropical parts of Latin America and Africa. Reductions in plant diversity by increased atmospheric N deposition may be more widespread than first thought, and more targeted studies are required in low background areas, especially in the G200 ecoregions.read more
Citations
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The importance of ammonia volatilization in estimating the efficacy of nitrification inhibitors to reduce N2O emissions: A global meta-analysis.
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of Nitrification Inhibitors (NIs) on NH3 volatilization and N2O emissions under different environmental conditions was evaluated. But, the authors did not evaluate the effect on the overall NH3 emissions.
Journal ArticleDOI
Impact of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on soil properties and herb-layer diversity in remnant forests along an urban–rural gradient in Guangzhou, southern China
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors investigated the pattern of atmospheric N deposition along an urban-rural gradient in metropolitan Guangzhou, southern China, and assessed the potential influence of N deposition on soil properties and understory plant diversity in remnant forests, precipitation, and soil samples were collected and vegetation was surveyed from four forest sites between March 2010 and March 2011.
Journal ArticleDOI
Phylogenetic conservation of bacterial responses to soil nitrogen addition across continents.
Kazuo Isobe,Kazuo Isobe,Steven D. Allison,Banafshe Khalili,Adam C. Martiny,Jennifer B. H. Martiny +5 more
TL;DR: Analysis of data on soil microbial responses to nitrogen addition across 5 continents finds that responses are predictable based on phylogeny, suggesting that a phylogenetic approach may be useful in predicting shifts in microbial community composition in the face of other environmental changes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Long-term nitrogen addition changes soil microbial community and litter decomposition rate in a subtropical forest
Jianping Wu,Wenfei Liu,Weixin Zhang,Yuanhu Shao,Honglang Duan,Baodong Chen,Xiaohua Wei,Houbao Fan +7 more
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors established a 10-year-long field experiment examining the effect of simulated N deposition on soil bacterial diversity and litter decomposition processes in a subtropical Chinese fir forest.
Journal ArticleDOI
Comparative use of lichens, mosses and tree bark to evaluate nitrogen deposition in Germany.
TL;DR: To compare three biomonitoring techniques for assessing nitrogen (N) pollution in Germany, 326 lichen, 153 moss and 187 bark samples were collected and shows that particularly lichens are able to reflect the local N deposition originating from agriculture.
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